[US Pre-Market] Trump Considers Resuming Military Strikes Against Iran. Hypersonic Missiles May Be Deployed in Combat for the First Time. Brent Crude Hits Four-Year High of $126

TradingKey - Before the U.S. market open on Thursday (April 30), Brent crude hit a nearly four-year high, and futures for the three major U.S. stock indices rose collectively.

Brent crude touched $126.41 per barrel intraday, its highest level since June 2022; it has risen for nine consecutive days, its longest winning streak since May 2022. Brent crude has gained over 100% so far this year.

On the news front, the U.S. government is advancing military strikes against Iran. U.S. Central Command has applied to deploy hypersonic missiles to target Iranian missile launchers. Trump has explicitly rejected Iran's proposed terms for peace talks—opening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the blockade before considering nuclear negotiations—and the U.S. will maintain its naval blockade of the strait.

In U.S. stocks, Qualcomm (QCOM) rose more than 12% in pre-market trading, Google ( GOOGL )( GOOG) rose over 7%, while Meta (META) fell about 9%.

Unusual Market Movement

Meta fell more than 9% after raising its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to a range of $125 billion to $145 billion from its previous forecast of $115 billion to $135 billion the day before.

Qualcomm rose more than 12% in pre-market trading after its second-quarter earnings report showed that QCT Android handset chip shipments from the Chinese market would bottom out in the current fiscal quarter before rebounding; the company began delivering data center chips to a major hyperscaler this year.

Google climbed more than 7% following the previous day's release of better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, which showed Google Cloud revenue grew 63% year-over-year and its backlog nearly doubled from the prior quarter to $460 billion.

Market Headlines

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, but internal discord intensified as Governor Milan dissented in favor of a rate cut. Although three regional Fed presidents supported the hold, their statements revealed a dovish bias. Traders have all but scrapped bets on a rate cut this year, pivoting to wager on a possible hike in 2027.

The risk of U.S.-Iran conflict has flared up again as Trump weighs a return to large-scale military operations. According to reports, Trump will be briefed by U.S. Central Command on the 30th regarding new military options. CENTCOM has formulated a "short and sharp" strike plan targeting Iranian infrastructure; a previous request sought the deployment of "Dark Eagle" hypersonic missiles to the Middle East to neutralize Iranian launchers.

South Korea’s Kospi index surged nearly 31% in its best monthly performance since January 1998. Heavyweights led the rally, with Samsung Electronics gaining 31.88% and SK Hynix soaring 59.36% in April. Samsung Electronics reported robust first-quarter results on April 29, with quarterly operating profit jumping nearly eightfold year-on-year, briefly lifting its share price to an intraday record of 230,000 won.

Key Data/Events Preview

On May 1, Japan will release the April Tokyo core Consumer Price Index (CPI) YoY and Tokyo CPI YoY; the U.S. will release the April ISM Manufacturing PMI.

On May 1, several energy companies will report earnings, including Imperial Oil (IMO) , Chevron (CVX) , ExxonMobil (XOM) , among others.